2011 Dodge Avenger Review

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KBB Editors' Overview

By KBB Editors
- Updated Date: 3/30/2011

One year after a brush with near-bankruptcy and with a hefty styling infusion care of Italian car maker Fiat, Dodge has once again avoided being swept into the junkyard of history. One of the most deserving recipients of Dodge's design rebirth is the
Dodge Avenger mid-sized
sedan, a car that had once been roundly criticized for its dull interiors, mediocre drivetrain and low resale value. But, the
2011 Dodge Avenger is a totally different animal, with an aggressive new exterior, a stunningly modern interior and one of the best drivetrain and suspension setups in its class. If ever there was a case of turning a sow's ear into a silk purse, the 2011 Dodge Avenger is it.

You'll Like This Car If...

If you're brain says "Charger" but your wallet says "
used car," the 2011 Dodge Avenger may be your knight in shining armor. Its bold styling, great handling and affordable price will satisfy both your enthusiast and economical sides.

You May Not Like This Car If...

If you're looking for subtle but upscale styling, cutting-edge refinement and best-in-class resale value, you might be happier with the VW Jetta or
Hyundai Sonata.

What's New for 2011

The 2011 Dodge Avenger receives a complete makeover, with new front and rear styling, new wheels, a completely new interior, new suspension and steering and an available 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine.

Driving ItDriving Impressions

The 2011 Dodge Avenger is a truly great driver's car. A thorough reworking of the car's suspension, brakes and steering systems has netted a
mid-size sedan that – if it wasn't for the big Dodge ram head staring up from the steering wheel's center – you would swear was built by VW or Nissan. Dodge has managed to blend a soft comfortable ride with a responsive chassis that can carve up twisting mountain roads as easily as it floats over long freeway stretches. The new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 puts the muscle behind the 2011 Dodge Avenger's moves, delivering impressive power, silky-smooth operation and pretty decent fuel economy. Connecting wheels to engine is Dodge's new six-speed AutoStick automatic transmission. While it's fun to shift your own gears, the AutoStick is not as quick or precise as some newer dual-clutch transmissions. But, as the automatic does an excellent job of finding and holding the correct gear, we don't think you'll miss the manual-shift feature in the long run.

3.6-liter Pentastar V6
Quite possibly one of the best V6 engines every produced, the new Pentastar V6 pulls like a V8, purrs like a Lexus and returns impressive fuel economy.

Vehicle DetailsInterior

The most noticeable change attributed to the 2011 Dodge Avenger is its interior. Gone are the primer-gray tones and hard plastic surfaces, replaced by a more organic dash design, soft-touch materials on the armrests, console and dash and a new color pallet that includes rich ebony, warm sand and even a two-tone red-on-black theme. Dodge has used extensive sound deadening materials to help quiet the Avenger's cabin while simultaneously giving it some very loud audio options, including a six-speaker Boston Acoustics upgrade and a navigation radio with a 30-gigabyte hard drive capable of storing up to 4,250 songs.

Exterior

Although its profile is still familiar, the 2011 Dodge Avenger is a far better looking car than the model it replaces. A new front crosshair grille and aggressive lower air intake are complimented by projector-beam fog lamps and honeycomb-textured grille inserts. Around back, the Avenger receives a new rear valence and larger tail lamps with a "ring of fire" LED light pattern. The Avenger's overall fit and finish are also noticeably improved, with better fitting plastic pieces, tighter tolerances between body panels and much more lustrous paint choices. Rounding out the 2011 Dodge Avenger's new look is a set of aggressive wheel choices: 17-inch on Express and Mainstreet trims and 18-inch alloy on LUX and Heat models.

The Avenger's base 2.4-liter "world gas engine" has been given numerous upgrades to help it perform better and with less noise, vibration and harshness. Producing 173 horsepower, the 2.4-liter is not the most powerful in its class, but at least it can now keep up with the pack leaders. The real star of the Avenger line up is the all-new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, which produces an impressive 283 horsepower yet returns highway fuel economy figures around 30 mpg. The 3.6-liter engine is also E85-compatible.

The 2011 Dodge Avenger Express has a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starting just under $20,000. The Mainstreet starts around $22,000 and a fully loaded LUX trim with navigation and V6 engine bumps the price closer to $29,000. Our Fair Purchase Price reflects real-world selling prices others in your area are paying for the Avenger, so be sure to check it out before you buy. The
Ford Fusion and
Nissan Altima, two performance-themed competitors, start for about the same amount of money, but don't offer the same standard feature content. The Hyundai Sonata costs a bit more but offers more features and a larger cabin, while the
Chevrolet Cruze costs less but is somewhat smaller. Compared with category leaders like the
Honda Accord,
Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima, the Avenger's higher feature content at any given price is countered in part by lower projected resale values.

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